Pay the Reaper
by Regina the Queen of Random
Summary: Pain is pain. Hate is hate. Love is love. Death is death. Nothing can be changed. Or can it?
1. The Target

**Regina, the Queen of Random:** Hello, and welcome to my newest fic, Pay the Reaper. Just to be quick: title comes from the Bif Naked song, 'Lucky'.

I do not own Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, or any other of the Harry Potter characters or places.

Warning: If you are not a Draco/Hermione shipper, turn back now. If you are, however, be sure to ask the librarians for assistance (they are the ones wearing leather!).

Oh, and if you like this story so far, review, and then check out my myth-based 'The Unseen Face of Love'. And another thing. Check out my D/Hr music videos (right now only 'Taking Over Me' and 'Until the Day I Die' are up) at Sweet Reflections. Address is in my bio, in case you do decide to go check them out.

Okay, no more shameless plugging now (for this chapter anyway. Sorry if it is a bit short, they should get longer).

**Pay the Reaper**

_Chapter One: The Target_

_There was no name on the piece of paper. Only an address._

_But that did not matter. He knew what was being asked of him when he was handed that piece of paper. Its occupants were his next target._

_Little did he know that that little piece of paper was to be his downfall..._

It was in a Muggle town. The target, or targets, must have thought they could hide amongst the Muggles, pretend to be just like them. That was impossible. Very few wizards and witches could pass through the Muggle world without attracting some sort of attention. They may have been inferior, but that did not mean that they were as dumb as animals.

The black of his clothing helped him hide in the patches of shadow made by the street lamps. The matching hood helped to hide his face. He had not bothered with too many concealment spells – and anyway, he would want the target to know who it was who had come to wipe them out.

A car was parked in the driveway – oh, those foolish Muggles! Forced to drive, lacking broomsticks! – and he barely noticed the bumper sticker.

_Dentists make you smile!_

He was focused on the task ahead. He had the advantage that came with surprise, but even if they were able to defend themselves, he had an arsenal of spells, all designed to hurt and yes, even kill.

He would save _that_ one for the very end.

* * *

A whispered '_Alohamora_' solved the small problem of the door. There were no lights on in the hallway, although a faint glow seemed to be coming from what he guessed would be the kitchen.

A spell he had cast earlier muffled any sound that his careful footsteps may have made, although he had done this so many times he was able to move as silently as a breath of air, as invisible as a shadow at midnight.

Yes, it was the kitchen. The light was coming from the – what was it called? – refrigerator. Someone was up for a midnight snack, it seemed.

He paused, looking at the person who was now the first target to be eliminated. She was completely unaware of his presence, completely vulnerable, as she rummaged through the shelves.

She was dressed in simple pyjamas, slightly rumpled. Her hair was dark – it was difficult for even him, with his excellent night vision, to define the colour – and messy from sleep.

And she was young. In his twenties, like him.

But that did not matter. She was one of the targets, perhaps the only target. He was curious as to why she had been targeted, but that was just a side concern. He would ask when he was finished, ask the person who had given him this assignment, perhaps.

He pulled his hood down, revealing his face.

He did not wait for her to turn around. She would see his face soon enough.

It would be the last thing she would ever see.

He raised his wand.

"_Crucio._"

The effects were immediate. The woman fell to the ground, writhing in agony as waves of pain wracked her body. She struggled to breathe, knowing only pain.

A small smile crossed his lips. He thought he had stopped enjoying this...

She opened her eyes, saw his face, saw the smile that he wore. They closed again, as painful sobs escaped her lips.

Hands clenched and unclenched, and began clawing at the ground, trying to escape this pain.

She tried to speak. Failed. Tried again.

"Please..." her voice was a whisper, "... stop..."

Everyone else had begged for their lives, although he had to give this woman credit.

The others had begged before the torture, or before he cast the final spell.

Never had anyone spoken to him under the pain of Cruciatus.

"Please..." she tried again. "Draco..."

Ice coursed through his veins. How could she know his name?

"... Malfoy... please..."

In a flash, he realised something.

The hair was not messy from sleep.

It had always been that way.

Had been for as long as he had known her.

As long as he had known...

Hermione Granger!

* * *

The realisation broke the control he had over the spell. Hermione fell flat on the floor, every cell in her body sighing with relief that the pain was gone.

Her breathing was ragged and harsh, but she was still breathing.

Her mind slowly came back from wherever the pain had sent it. She saw lights and shadows moving across the back of her eyelids, as though there was an entire galaxy there.

Her lips were dry, she could feel them crack more and more as she breathed. Each breath came easier, but it was a long time before her chest rattling.

Memories of the pain passed through her, almost as bad as the real pain had been. She knew she would never be able to forget it.

Never.

Finally she was able to open her eyes.

The kitchen of her parents' house was bathed in the gentle gold light of the refrigerator. Shards of glass lay on the ground next to her, where she had dropped the milk bottle. The milk had started to be absorbed by her sleeve.

And Draco Malfoy was gone.


	2. Safe for Now

**Regina:** Big shout out to everyone who reviewed chapter one1 It really makes my day seeing, 'Review Alert!' in my inbox.

Anyway, here's chapter two. Just letting you know, an original character makes an appearance in a scene where I normally would have put Ginny. However, Ginny just didn't seem right, so, yeah.

Please review. Make me happy. Happy Regina write more fics. Writing Regina has better grammar.

**Pay the Reaper**

_Chapter Two: Safe for Now  
_

"Oh, Hermione, we were so worried..."

Hermione opened her eyes to see two sets looking down at her: one brown, the other a brilliant green. Behind Ron and Harry's heads, Hermione could see walls she knew belonged to St Mungo's.

Her voice cracked as she whispered, "How did I get here?"

As Ron made to get her some water from the bedside table, Harry told her. "Your parents phoned me, and I told everyone else."

"So... they're all right? Mum and Dad?" She took the glass of water Ron offered her. "He didn't hurt them?"

Harry shook his head. "No. They're fine. Now that we know that they're targets, Dumbledore has ordered them moved to a safe house."

"We should have known!" Ron muttered angrily, entering the conversation. "After what happened to the Creevys..."

"No one could have known that they would have come after them, Ron."

"Harry's right. Have you heard from Colin?"

Harry nodded, just once. "Yes. His father's started walking again. A few steps each day, but it's a start. His mother was crying with relief." He shook his head. "we were lucky, that time." He met her eyes. "Like we were this morning."

Hermione took a sip of water, choked on what she was about to say, took a breath, then said, "It was Draco Malfoy."

"What?" Harry and Ron asked together. Then, it was just Ron who spoke, "I'll kill him for this."

Hermione was silent.

How could she tell him that he would just be going off to die?

* * *

Draco Malfoy was not, by nature, a pacer, although he was seriously questioning this as he paced for the forty-seventh time along the narrow hallway.

A door opened a crack, and he muttered, "Finally."

He burst in through the door. "Nott!"

Theodore Nott looked up, although there was no surprise anywhere in his thin face.

He had changed a lot since they had left Hogwarts – not on the outside, but on the inside.

He was colder, crueller. Soulless would be a good way to describe him now.

Yes, only a soulless monster could hand write the addresses on those pieces of paper, and hand them out without batting an eyelid.

Draco knew he was soulless, too, of course. After all, he accepted those pieces of paper, and carried out the orders that came from higher above, that filtered downwards from the Death Eaters of his father's generation.

The assassination orders came from Nott's father, Avery. Nott himself handed them out because, unlike Draco, he had no real skill in the carrying out of these orders.

He lacked the power, Draco supposed would be one way of saying it.

"What is it?" Nott asked finally. "Did you complete the assignment?"

Draco thrust the piece of paper at Nott. "Did you know that Granger would be there?" he demanded. "Did you know?"

Nott's face remained perfectly calm. "It is her parent's home, Malfoy."

"You knew!" The words practically erupted from his mouth. The times Draco lost his temper, truly lost his temper, were few and far in between. But when it happened, it was like a supernova. "You sent me after her parents, without even warning me who they were? She could have been – and was – there! You know what she can do! You saw what she did to Pansy!"

Nott regarded him coolly, and Draco had to resist the urge not to whip out his wand and make that face explode. "Pansy Parkinson was weak, and a fool."

"So she deserved what she got?"

There was no reaction from Nott whatsoever, except for an emotionless, "Yes."

Draco had had enough. Turning away so that Nott would not see the way his lip twitched, he stormed from the room.

* * *

A cool hand on Hermione's forehead late that afternoon roused her from her light sleep.

"No fever. Good," said a female voice. Hermione smiled, knowing who the voice belonged to.

Opening her eyes confirmed her suspicions. The hand belonged to a Healer Hermione knew quite well, Hygeia Dioscorides. Hermione knew her from Hogwarts, although barely, as not only was Hygeia a Ravenclaw, but also the Head Girl of the year above Hermione and her friends.

Hygeia and her sister, Scylla, a Slytherin from Ginny's year, came from an ancient Pureblood line from Greece. They could trace their roots back to the sorcerers of ancient times. Their grandfather had immigrated to England as a young man, and enjoyed a great deal of success in trading between the two magical communities.

Although they were foreign Purebloods, the Dioscorides family were well looked upon by the British Purebloods – her great grandfather had been the Minister of Magic for Greece, and responsible for some of the modern ties between the two countries.  
This did not make Hygeia, and her family, like other Pureblood families. They were, as Hygeia liked to say, 'Liberal-yet-Traditional Purebloods, not quite like the Weasleys, but certainly nothing like the Malfoys'. 

There was a time, she had confessed to Hermione, that she thought her sister would turn out like many of the other Slytherins of their generation. All Hygeia's fears were proved otherwise when Dumbledore revealed that Scylla was actually a spy amongst the ranks of the former young Slytherins, and exposed herself to save the Creevys, almost at the cost of her own life.

Hygeia stepped away from the bed, and sat down in a chair. It was then that Hermione noticed that she was not dressed for work: instead in casual Muggle clothes, black hair loose, instead of tied back like it would be for work. "I have a message from your parents," Hygeia said after a few moment's of silence. "Don't sit up," she added, before Hermione had even tried. Hygeia's ability to read people, predict their actions, was one of the things that Hermione envied about her. It was one of the things that made her such a good Healer – although Hygeia would always tell her that she was blind to people she really cared about. Take Scylla, for example.

"What did they say?"

Hygeia's black eyes were light but serious. "They're fine. They are with Scylla and the Creevys at the Safe House. Remus has ordered that a few other members of the Order be placed there to help her." Scylla was a witch skilled in combat magic, and a ruthless fighter. Both Scylla and her sister had the ability to remain perfectly calm under almost the most demanding of situations, although they had used it to different purposes. "I was on my way to see them. Well, the Creevys. I wanted to see Scylla, and Horus said he would let me do Mr Creevy's Healing instead. Horus said he and Bill could use that time to translate those Egyptian texts that Mundungus managed to get hold of."

Horus was Hygeia's fiancé, and Hygeia's parents were shocked that she had fallen in love with a half-blood, albeit one that had proven himself to potentially be an extremely powerful Healer, like their daughter. Born to an Egyptian witch, and an English Muggle, Horus was the unusual offspring that resulted. He was also a good friend of Bill's, and an important member of the Order. Hermione wished she was as lucky as they were, because, despite the several year age gap, and their coming from two completely different worlds, everyone who knew them well were convinced they were soulmates.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. I don't want anything to happen to them."

"Harry said that it was Draco Malfoy that attacked you. Is that true?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. I don't remember much – he used the Cruciatus curse while my back was turned."

"Coward."

She could not help but smile. "Yeah. I think I begged him to stop, and he did. He ran away while I was still coming back from it all."

Hygeia smoothed back part of her masses of black hair with a golden hand. That was another thing they had in common – afflicted by more hair than they would have liked. "Is that all? He didn't do anything in particular? Or, as a matter of fact, did you?"

Hermione frowned, and bit her lip, trying to remember. "I may have said his name."

"First or last?"

"... First... then last."

"You said you had your back turned to him. That must have been the moment he recognised you. The shock of seeing you, after all of this time, must have broken his control over the spell."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Cruciatus does require a lot of concentration. But still... you knew Malfoy when we were younger. Outside school I mean."

"Well, yes, but the times we saw each other were at those fancy 'Pureblood-Only' parties. I hated those." Hygeia paused. "He hated them, too, come to think of it." She smiled slightly. "I remember the summer before Lucius was sent to Azkaban, and He- I mean, Voldemort, came back. We all - Malfoy, Scylla and myself - snuck out from Narcissa's summer bash, and went into the village all by ourselves." She rose from her chair. "I'll ask Scylla while I'm there – she knew him better. I mean, she practically grew up with him. And, more importantly, she's the only one who knew him after Hogwarts."

"Maybe she'll know why," Hermione replied.

"Maybe he's in love with you."

There was a moment's pause, and then both of them started laughing like small children in front of a puppet show. Hermione stopped and winced, and Hygeia immediately went into Healer-mode.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. It just hurts."

"It will for some time. Would you like me to order you a sleeping draught?"

"Yes, please."

"Good-bye, then," Hygeia said, and with that, left the ward.

When the sleeping potion came, Hermione drank greedily, wanting, for once, not to think at all.

* * *

How he hated that Mudblood Hermione Granger.

That was why he was searching for the perfect spell with which to destroy her.

* * *

**Author's note:** This is the first time that I have done an author's note at the end of the story, but there were some things that I thought I had better explain.

Yes, Hygeia, Scylla and Horus are all original characters. They were all supposed to have briefly appeared in a fic I began writing ages ago, _Inseparable_, about Ginny Weasley, but as the first chapter of that fic has not been completed, it made sense that they would appear in _Pay the Reaper_ instead. They will still appear in _Inseparable_, but only when I get my lazy butt in gear. The basic idea was that Ginny would sometimes talk to Scylla in class (although until now, she had no name), and she mentioned once that her sister, Hygeia, had fallen in love with a half-blood, and Scylla would be absolutely scandalised by it. Hygeia would appear briefly, later on, as would Horus.

Anyway, just like J.K. Rowling, there are reasons as to why I have named them with such strange names.

**Dioscorides:** This was the surname of an ancient Greek physician, who wrote several books on medicine, and was physician to the Roman Emperor Nero.

**Hygeia:** In Greek mythology, she was the granddaughter of Apollo, god of healing, and inherited her healing ability from her father, who was killed by Zeus for using his power to raise the dead. She, like Apollo and the rest of the gods and goddesses, is sworn on when doctors take their Hippocratic Oath.

**Scylla:** Scylla's name has come from two places. Firstly, she was a princess who betrayed her father and kingdom for what she thought was love, and secondly, Scylla was a horrible creature with twelve feet and six long necks, each bearing a head with three rows of teeth, with which she devoured any prey that came within reach, that lived in a cave on one side of a strait. The monster version has two roots: one, that she was the Scylla who betrayed her father, and was turned into the monster as punishment, or, that she was a beautiful maiden loved by a sea god, and was turned into a monster by the jealous goddess-witch Circe.

**Horus:** Like this Horus, the Horus of mythology comes from ancient Egypt. He was the god of the sky, light and goodness, and killed the god of darkness and evil (Set – watch Stargate SG-1, they have done a very good spin on the whole idea of Egyptian and world mythology/history).


	3. Caught InBetween

**Regina:** Hello, hello. I was going to update my other Draco/Hermione fic, _The Unseen Face of Love_, but have ended up writing enough to update this one with instead. Ah, well. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter – I'm sorry for all those who hate Original Characters, but Hygeia returns briefly, and Scylla makes her first appearance. But don't worry! Apart from a brief appearance from Horus Flinders (explain the last name next time), some good old Canon characters will return, now that the scene has been set.

Although they won't read it, congratulations are due for the winners of the Dangerous Liaisons Awards! The DL Awards are fiction awards specifically for Draco/Hermione stories. I've found many a good one through DL, so I suggest you check it out. Far better writers than me, anyway.

On another note, visit the D/Hr site Sweet Reflections (address in my bio) where you can find two of my music videos: _Until the Day I Die_, and _Taking Over Me_. Hopefully others, such as, _I Would Give Anything to Make You Better _and _Living In A Lie _are uploaded there too. If you like music videos, check out Sweet Reflections – they have other good ones there, too, the most recent one being _Broken_, by Seether featuring Amy Lee.

Okay, enough of the shameless plugs now, on with the story, with just the disclaimer to go through: **I do not own, and never will own, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and any other Harry Potter-related characters, places, etc. Sigh.**

**Pay the Reaper**

_Chapter Three: Caught In-Between _

"Okay, okay, easy now, Hermione. Baby steps."

"Ron! I have been attacked, not turned into a toddler! I can do this on my own! Stop laughing, Harry, it's not that funny!"

"Really? Well, I think so!" he chortled, eyes half-closed with mirth.

"Ron, let go of me, now, because although I was tortured, I am still strong enough to make you regret holding on to me."

Ron's hands on her elbows almost leapt away with such a speed she was reminded of the time he tried to find out if blue fire was actually hot.

On that occasion, he had been kept overnight in the infirmary. Everyone had made fun of him for _weeks_ after that.

"Fine, fine," he said, recovering from Hermione's verbal bite. "If you say you don't need help, then I believe you. But don't expect me to come and help you next time you ask."

"Deal."

Hermione walked slowly to the other side of the room, and sat down in the chair Hygeia had sat in the day before when she talked to him about Malfoy.

"So what's been happening?" she asked once she had made herself comfortable.

"Um..." Harry thought for a moment, then said, "Dumbledore is worried that Voldemort is going to make a move pretty soon. Snape and Scylla agree with him – although Scylla says that it's not going to be the major one... you know what I'm talking about."

Hermione nodded, and tried to ignore the ice that travelled down her spine. She knew _exactly_ what he was talking about. The _final move_ in this chess game, as Dumbledore had once said to her. "So what do they think it is?"

"They want to weaken the Order, by, what did Scylla say at the meeting, Harry?"

"Striking at their hearts, their weakness."

"Their families," Hermione breathed.

Harry nodded solemnly. "And they're taking out the Muggles first."

Hermione thought for a moment. "Snape and Lupin have no family left, same with Moody and a few others. The Dioscorides are safe – they're Purebloods, even if _both_ their daughters are traitors. Neville and Ron come from Pureblood families... but Colin and I... we've already been attacked."

"Yeah, we were lucky about that," Ron added. "Though Snape was furious with Scylla about exposing herself to save the Creeveys, when all she could have done was warn us."

"There was no time," Hermione pointed out. "Once a Death Eater is in your home... that's it. Especially if you're a Muggle. Mr Creevey was lucky to escape with paralysis of the leg."

"Although he was luckier than Snape," Ron said, chuckling. "Bloody hell, did Scylla yell at him. Who would have thought that someone that little could shout so loud?"

Hermione and Harry chuckled too, remembering the sight of a petite young woman who bore more than a passing resemblance to Hygeia, except that her hair and eyes were more brown than black, ripping into Snape without any fear.

Hermione figured it was probably a good thing that half of it was in Greek – and from the look in his eyes, Snape probably did too.

"... and then Hygeia started yelling at _her_! All in Greek, too!" Ron wiped a tear from his eye.

"Makes me glad I'm not Horus!"

"_You're_ glad? _I'm_ glad Scylla isn't trying to pin _me_ down anymore!"

More laughter followed this remark, until a voice cut in dryly, "And I suppose you want me to pretend that I didn't hear that, Ronald Bilius Weasley?"

Ron's jaw dropped and he went bright red. Hermione barely managed to smother a giggle. "Um... Hygeia... hi... how'd you know my middle name?"

"Well, Ron," Hygeia began (while Hermione swore a muffled, "_Bilius?_" came from Harry's direction), "they're called medical files. Everything – right down to the smallest detail. And I'm sure that _Bilius_ isn't the only thing you'd prefer not to get into the wrong hands."

"Are you sure you're the Ravenclaw in the family? 'Cause I'm sure Scylla was never that cruel, and she's a Slytherin."

"Stereotypes mean people make very foolish judgements, Ron," Hygeia explained. "Besides, with people like Crabbe and Goyle in Slytherin, it's hard to see how anyone could think of them to be evil. No, it's the Ravenclaws you have to look out for." She turned her attentions on Hermione. "And what are you doing out of bed? I thought your instructions were to stay in bed. I suggest you get back in their now." She waved her wand. "Or would you like some help?"

"No, I'm fine." Hermione said, and shuffled over to the bed,

As Ron helped her climb back in, he muttered to her, "She's twice as bad Madam Pomfrey," and she nodded her agreement.

"Thank you, Ron," Hygeia's voice was still dry. "I will remember that comment next time you injure yourself. But I don't think you'll do what you did when you were four and..."

"All right! I'm sorry!"

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to give Hermione some medicine. I can't have you bothering my patient, so you'll have to calm things down a bit. Is there anything in particular you would like to say to Hermione before I do so?" She shot Harry a meaningful look.

"Oh!" Harry bent down and whispered something into her ear.

"_That's_ the new password for the Safe House?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Well, Dumbledore does pick them, and you have to admit, what Death Eater would say that by chance?"

"Well... you have a point there... but still..."

"All right. That's enough. You're bothering my patient. You're lucky I haven't kicked you out yet. I suppose it's because I like you... but I don't like you _that_ much." Hygeia handed Hermione a small glass. "Drink this. It'll help with the pain. Then you can have something to eat, and tomorrow you should be well enough to be released."

Hermione took the glass, and took a sip. She was about to take a second when she realised something. Hygeia had been the top student in Potions of her year, and one of her specialities was... "It's a sleeping potion. How powerful?" she demanded.

There was a sparkle of mirth in her obsidian eyes. "Let's just say you don't need to drink anymore. One sip was more than enough to work."

In a weak form of defiance, Hermione calmly placed the glass on the bedside table, and lay down calmly. Laying her hands by her sides, she slowly closed her eyes, not fighting the heaviness she felt.

The last thing she heard was Hygeia's chuckle. "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

* * *

He flipped the pages savagely, almost ripping several. That spell was a possibility... no, it needed a potion to go with it... what about... he made a face. _Definitely_ not that one. Ugh. Besides, it could only be cast on a man, by a woman. Pity there wasn't a reversed version of that. Although then it wouldn't really be as effective.

Pity.

He tossed the book aside, not caring where it landed. Somewhere on his bedroom floor, where it would be found tomorrow morning.

But the hour had grown late, and he knew he had to sleep. He blew out the solitary candle that attempted to light the small confines of the room, and lay down in the cavernous emptiness of the bed, and waited for sleep to come.

If it came at all.

* * *

Having been released that morning, Hermione's first order of business was to visit her parents. The Safe House was located about an hour away from London, and disguised much like Grimmald Place, but with the extra security of live-in guards (Scylla Dioscorides was a permanent fixture at the Safe House, seeing as she was an easily identifiable target, as well as an excellent fighter - for someone who was not trained as an Auror, but as a Death Eater-inductee), and a password.

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts," Hermione muttered under her breath. It was then that the large home appeared, sliding out of nowhere to stand before her, proud and confident, if houses could appear that way.

The door opened a crack, and a dry, sarcastic voice floated out. "That's possibly why I've never heard any of the boys complaining."

"Hello, Scylla," Hermione said amicably, knowing that Scylla's attitude was just a façade. "How've you been?"

The door opened wider, allowing Hermione to step past a petite young woman who looked a lot like Hygeia, except her hair and eyes were more brown than black. "Oh, as well I can be, I suppose, seeing as I have an army of Death Eaters on my trail, wanting to take their revenge on the Order traitor." Scylla's voice did not lose the dry tone. It was one of the traits that she had picked up from her time at Hogwarts, and after, with Draco Malfoy. "But what about you? I hear an old friend paid you a visit."

Hermione nodded. "Draco Malfoy, but I'm sure Hygeia told you all about it. but I wanted to talk to you about him, actually."

"Your parents are here, by the way," Scylla replied. "I'll bring them to the kitchen. Make yourself some tea or something while you wait."

Hermione decided to comply with the order.


End file.
